'Animals kill, that's how the world works' : the role of neutralisation and affirmation techniques in the discourse of animal product consumption

Despite the fact that the consumption of animal products gives rise to a number of negative environmental externalities, global consumption keeps increasing. Previous research has applied neutralisation and affirmation theory in order to understand (dis)engagement in pro-environmental behaviour, typ...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Tawast, Tea, Åhlvik, Therese
Formato: H2
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: SLU/Dept. of Urban and Rural Development 2017
Materias:
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author Tawast, Tea
Åhlvik, Therese
author_browse Tawast, Tea
Åhlvik, Therese
author_facet Tawast, Tea
Åhlvik, Therese
author_sort Tawast, Tea
collection Epsilon Archive for Student Projects
description Despite the fact that the consumption of animal products gives rise to a number of negative environmental externalities, global consumption keeps increasing. Previous research has applied neutralisation and affirmation theory in order to understand (dis)engagement in pro-environmental behaviour, typically with a focus on the individual user of such discursive justification strategies. However, the present thesis recognises a need to address the interpersonal role of these techniques and their implications for how individuals communicate regarding environmental issues. The purpose of this study was to connect the cognitive processes of neutralisations and affirmations to the discursive practices of social interaction in the context of animal product consumption and pro-environmental behaviour. The aim was to explore the ways in which, and with what implications, these techniques are used by omnivores and vegans in social interaction. Qualitative data was gathered through four focus group sessions conducted with eighteen omnivorous and vegan pro-environmental students in the Swedish city of Uppsala. A dialogical discourse analysis of this data uncovered six topoi that proved useful when professing claims of (dis)engagement in consumption of animal products. Furthermore, this study discusses the emergent micro-deliberations, the extensive reference to non-present others, the dialectics between neutralisations and affirmations, the structuration dialectic of topoi and the implications for the discourse of animal product consumption. This study offer insights into the complexity of pro-environmental behaviour in the area of animal product consumption, insights that are of value for practical and policy interventions aimed at reducing such consumption by organisations and governments.
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spelling RepoSLU116552017-10-10T10:04:30Z 'Animals kill, that's how the world works' : the role of neutralisation and affirmation techniques in the discourse of animal product consumption Tawast, Tea Åhlvik, Therese neutralisation theory neutralisations affirmations animal product consumption dialogism dialogical discourse analysis topoi structuration dialectic Despite the fact that the consumption of animal products gives rise to a number of negative environmental externalities, global consumption keeps increasing. Previous research has applied neutralisation and affirmation theory in order to understand (dis)engagement in pro-environmental behaviour, typically with a focus on the individual user of such discursive justification strategies. However, the present thesis recognises a need to address the interpersonal role of these techniques and their implications for how individuals communicate regarding environmental issues. The purpose of this study was to connect the cognitive processes of neutralisations and affirmations to the discursive practices of social interaction in the context of animal product consumption and pro-environmental behaviour. The aim was to explore the ways in which, and with what implications, these techniques are used by omnivores and vegans in social interaction. Qualitative data was gathered through four focus group sessions conducted with eighteen omnivorous and vegan pro-environmental students in the Swedish city of Uppsala. A dialogical discourse analysis of this data uncovered six topoi that proved useful when professing claims of (dis)engagement in consumption of animal products. Furthermore, this study discusses the emergent micro-deliberations, the extensive reference to non-present others, the dialectics between neutralisations and affirmations, the structuration dialectic of topoi and the implications for the discourse of animal product consumption. This study offer insights into the complexity of pro-environmental behaviour in the area of animal product consumption, insights that are of value for practical and policy interventions aimed at reducing such consumption by organisations and governments. SLU/Dept. of Urban and Rural Development 2017 H2 eng https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/11655/
spellingShingle neutralisation theory
neutralisations
affirmations
animal product consumption
dialogism
dialogical discourse analysis
topoi
structuration dialectic
Tawast, Tea
Åhlvik, Therese
'Animals kill, that's how the world works' : the role of neutralisation and affirmation techniques in the discourse of animal product consumption
title 'Animals kill, that's how the world works' : the role of neutralisation and affirmation techniques in the discourse of animal product consumption
title_full 'Animals kill, that's how the world works' : the role of neutralisation and affirmation techniques in the discourse of animal product consumption
title_fullStr 'Animals kill, that's how the world works' : the role of neutralisation and affirmation techniques in the discourse of animal product consumption
title_full_unstemmed 'Animals kill, that's how the world works' : the role of neutralisation and affirmation techniques in the discourse of animal product consumption
title_short 'Animals kill, that's how the world works' : the role of neutralisation and affirmation techniques in the discourse of animal product consumption
title_sort 'animals kill, that's how the world works' : the role of neutralisation and affirmation techniques in the discourse of animal product consumption
topic neutralisation theory
neutralisations
affirmations
animal product consumption
dialogism
dialogical discourse analysis
topoi
structuration dialectic